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[retiredmarine]

Ok I've started down the road of free renewable energy... and I find myself in need of some advice.. I purchased the Harbor Freight kit (45wt kit) now I'd like to know what I should do with it.

1. Just use it to charge household batteries when I need it using the provided cigarette adapter and a charging tray.

2. Purchase a couple of deep cycle 12 volt batteries and let it charge my household batteries and cordless tools using a small inverter.

3. Everythgn listed in 2 AND install a few 12 vold lights in my family room on a seperate circut to use at night or in an emergency

4. Everything in 2 and buy a larger inverter, and tie the system into teh home electrical system powering the family room circuit. (ys I knw I'd need to install a cut off accessable to the elec company)

any other ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[Sunking]

Ok I've started down the road of free renewable energy... and I find myself in need of some advice.. I purchased the Harbor Freight kit (45wt kit) now I'd like to know what I should do with it.

Sell it on Ebay so you can get some of your money back as they are useless toys not capable of doing much of anything other than charging a cell phone of flashlight.

Next thing is to re-learn is that using solar PV electric with a battery is anything other than FREE. In fact it is extremely expensive. Instead of paying the electric company 12 cents per Kwh, you will now be paying $2 for the rest of your life with inflation bringing that price up as batteries go up.

[retiredmarine]

Really?

Was that the most helpful thought you could come up with? Thanks..

[Sunking]

Was that the most helpful thought you could come up with? Thanks..

Yep it is the most honest helpful answer you are going to get. There will be others who will tell you what you want to hear. But once you figure out what the Harbor Freight stuff can really do (generate 1 cent worth of electricity per day), you will realize your mistake and learn from it.

Here is the basic economics if you live in Average Any Town USA like KCY. Power cost 12 cents per Kwh. So if you use 1 Kwh per day cost 12 cents per day, $3.66 per month, $43.92 per year, and $220 for 5 years. Simple math OK.

To generate 1 Kwh per day with a solar battery system will cost you just over $3000 with $1000 of that in battery cost. After 5 years you will be required to replace that $1000 battery at even a higher cost 5 years from now. Do the simple math. For the first 5 years you will pay $3000 for 1825 Khw. That works out to $3000 / 1825/kwh = $1.64 per Kwh. You only get that kind of good deal if you buy quality components like paying around $2.50 per watt on the solar panel plus all the other equipment like charge controllers, batteries, etc.

So what did you pay for 45 watts of solar panels? Was it less than $2.50 per watt or $2.50 x 45 watts = $112.50? I bet you paid around $200 for 3 solar panels and a useless $20 4 amp charge controller and do not even have the $100 battery you are going to need. At best you will generate .1 Kwh per day. With a $300 investment you will pay about $1.80 per Kwh. That is not free IMO.

So yeah I am cruel like Simon Cowell, but I am honest and tell it like it is. You just bought yourself a high school science fair project. Learn from it.

[Steve]

Hi retiredmarine.

I'm a noobe too. I've built a starter for a solar power back up system. This is what I've done:

*Made 2 solar panels made of tempered glass, hermetically sealed at a glass company. Together they generate around 6.8ah @ about 18V. They are more expensive than a usual DIY panel because of the glass and sealing but hopefully last longer. Most of the DIY plans you'll find around the net use plexiglass and plywood.
*Bought two golf cart deep cycle batteries.
*Bought an inverter.
*Spent around $600
*Still need around $130 for a charge controller.
*Plan to build 6 more panels and get two more pairs of batteries to complete my backup system.

As it sits now, I can power two 15W outdoor CFL's in a yard post drawing 30W total, plus the losses in my inverter overnight. (About 9 hours)
It takes two days for my panels to return my batteries to a full state of charge on a sunny day. They produce almost nothing on a heavily cloudy day.

So it basically takes two days of charging for one eveining of lighting for my $600. That's providing they are sunny days. Too bad if rainy weather persists for days/weeks.
I am not complaining- I was aware of the expense before beginning this and still plan to expand to 8 panels total for my backup power.

I too was originally going to power certain lights and small appliances in certain rooms using existing house wiring. I've learned that to be both dangerous and needlessly expensive.

[Steve]

I believe this is the setup you refer to.

According to their write-up:

Three 15 watt solar panels generate plenty of clean, quiet energy, using solar energy from the sun to run TVs, lights, computers, even recharge 12 volt DC batteries.

I find that quote extremely misleading for a system producing only 3ah.
More, I highly suspect they are the ones writing some of their own reviews- I find the following a mathematical impossibility:

I bought a set of these for my camper, I do alot of fishing here in late fall, winter. I have a 110 frig that I like to keep running and using 10 gallons of gas a day takes lots of fun out of it. I have taken them out once to use and like them. It was summer though and I had my battery charger all things ran good. The TV stereo, laptop,Frig. I even turned on the Air conditioner. Cool, Quite.

So this fellow took them out once on a camping trip and ran a 110V refrigerator all day, a TV, a computer and an air conditioner?

On only 3ah? (Scratching head)

Other reviews encourage viewers to buy MORE panels -
Other reviews encourage viewers to snatch them up at the "new low price".

If it were me I'd cancel the order if possible. You mentioned a desire to have a solar backup system. I'd do more research to find the pros and cons of solar power, the cost of it and how to obtain higher quality components as cheaply as possible.

If the link I found is indeed your vendor, it states:

Manufacturer Warranty Detail 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! If for ANY reason you are not satisfied with this item, you may return it within 30 days for a full refund or replacement.

Whether they honor the warranty is another question.

[russ]

Hi Retired Marine,

Too bad there are shyster types out there that are ever so happy to make their quick buck and leave the customer to suffer.

They take advantage of people not being aware of what they are getting into. Like Steve pointed out, letters of reference are more or less useless and in this case pure fabrication.

Don't lose hope - it is a bit more complicated and expensive than you might have imagined but it is possible. Use the search feature of our site and look at off grid posts - you can get a lot of good information.

Russ

[Mike90250]

Ok I've started down the road of free renewable energy... and I find myself in need of some advice.. I purchased the Harbor Freight kit (45wt kit) now I'd like to know what I should do with it.

Return it and get a refund. I think it carries a 1 year warranty, and then you have to replace it. Really cheap stuff like most of the gear at HF.


Forget about installing batteries or 12V wires in your house, if you want your fire insurance to be valid.

For the garden shed, a decent PV panel, charger, battery and small inverter can run chargers for your small tools. In an emergency , hook up a little LED light and 12V car radio and you are good.

Plan on at least $700 for a useful system, less is only a toy that will disappoint you.